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Holly Springs native leaves home to teach in northern Alaska

23-year old Bella DeCourcy embraces life as an adventure.

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SELAWIK, ALASKA — 23-year old Bella DeCourcy embraces life as an adventure. Two years ago when she graduated from Western Carolina University with a teaching degree, she took her warm personality to one of the coldest places on the planet.

As I write this story it is -53 degrees where Bella lives -- but it feels even colder. The wind chill in Selawik, Alaska in the Arctic Circle is -72 degrees.

And yes, there is snow, lots of snow in the forecast.

Two years ago when 23-year old Bella DeCourcy graduated from Western Carolina University with a teaching degree, she took her warm personality to one of the coldest places on the planet.

“It’s crazy cold here,” says Bella. “When I walk outside I can instantly feel it in my lungs and nose.”

The air in this flat coastal village is frigid and foggy.

It was so cold in Selawik recently that school officials canceled classes for the day. No student, in fact, no one in the village, could justify venturing outside in the brutal temperatures.

Bella, who grew up in Holly Springs, is in her second year of teaching in Selawik on the upper west coast of Alaska. She teaches first and second graders. Fifteen Alaska native students are in her class.

Alaskan students with their teacher

Bella loves her students. She calls them “cute and sweet” but somewhat reserved.

“They raise their eyebrows as a way of saying ‘yes.’ And I’ve caught myself doing the same thing," she said. “They take everything slow and take time to process things. They’re good listeners.”

Selawik is laid back. No one is in a hurry. The 829 villagers do not allow their lives to be dictated by the clock.

“We call it Native Time or Village Time," Bella said.

Dog race in northern Alaska

It is a place of no cars because there are no roads, just a boardwalk, which is right now covered in a thick blanket of ice and snow. Locally, you can travel by snow mobile in the winter. To travel anywhere of significant distance you have to take a plane, and that can be expensive.

Bella said teacher housing in Selawik is “relatively cheap” but groceries are “crazy expensive.”

Bella enjoys learning a different culture. She loves to watch dog races and is mesmerized by Northern Lights.

Northern Lights from Selawik

Bella has shown culinary courage sampling local specialties such as moose jerky, whale blubber and caribou liver.

Her favorite may be seal oil.

“You can dip just about anything in it,” she said.

Bella developed a fascination with Alaska while in high school. In college at Western Carolina, she attended a job fair and met someone pitching a teaching job in Selawik. Bella jumped at the chance to live out her Arctic dream.

The toughest part about living in northern Alaska is the isolation.

Selawik, Alaska

“I really miss my family,” exclaimed Bella. Her mom, Heather DeCourcy, works as a travel agent for AAA in Cary. That’s how I heard about this story.

Bella offers this advice for a teacher who might want to follow in her Alaskan footsteps. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she said. "I’d say check it out, and if it looks good, go for it!”

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